Venting device



May 6, 1930. R. J. ANSCHICKS VENTING DEVICE Filed March 25, 1927 000000 000000 000000 3 00000 0.060 0000 0000 0000 0000 4 .0000 a a 00000 3 00 000 n00 uu 4 0% m 4 0 Z 1. m 2 6 4 6 4 5 4 l r 9 j g 0000000 000000000 05 WJ OOOODDUHUDUUUUOUUOD a DOODOUOOOOODDODDU 6. 080 00000000000000 Ill 5000000000000000 0 0000000000000000 00000000000000000 3 0000000000000000 awooooooooooooooo 0 ooooooooooooooo ooopooooooooooooo g ooooooooooo D0000 UOUOOUOUGDUQ j OIUD OIOOUUOUUUD u 00 uonoouuuvod 2 v 1 a 0 0 j ,l ooooooorrv .uooooooooooooov Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RUDOLPH J. ANSCHICKS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 PROTECTOSEAL COM- PANY OF AMERICA, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS VEN TING DEVICE Application filed March 25, 1927. Serial No. 178,309.

My invention relates broadly to venting devices and particularly to devices of that character for protecting apparatus adapted to hold volatile liquids.

The invention has among its other objects the control of pressures obtaining within appreventing the development of a partial vacuum in a tank adapted to hold volatile liquids.

Still another particular object of the invention is to provide an improved venting device adapted to be mounted in a filling, test or 1 other opening provided in a tank adapted to hold volatile liquids, said venting device comprising means which insures that flame can not be propagated therethrough to ignite the contents of the tank.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given.

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a section taken through a device embodying another form of the invention.

In the drawings, I have shown one form of the invention embodied in a device which is particularly adapted to be used in connection with tanks designed to hold volatile liquids such as benzol or gasoline, but it is to be understood that my invention is limited to this use only to the extent indicated in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character 10 designates a tank adapted to hold a volatile liquid. Only one wall of the tank is shown in the drawing as the construction of the tank does not form a part of this invention. The tank 10 is provided with an opening 11 and secured to the outer surface of the tank and aligned with the opening is a flanged collar l l provided with internal screw threads 15 whereby a sleeve 16 is socured thereto. The sleeve 16 is preferably provided with internal annular shoulders 17 and 18, rings 19 and 20, respectively, being seated upon the shoulders 17 and 18. The rin r 19 is held by the shoulder 17. The ring 20 is held in place upon the shoulder 18 by a plurality of bolts 22, or the equivalent, washers 23 being provided under the heads of the bolts to engage the ring 20. The construction is such that the joints between the rings .19 and 20 and the sleeve 16 are substantially gas tight.

The upper surface of the ring 20 is prefer ably provided with an annular groove 24 upon which the marginal edge of a valve or cover 25 is adapted to seat. The cover 25 is pivoted by a pin 26 to a lever 27 which is in turn pivoted by a pin 28 to lugs 29 preferably formed integral with the sleeve 16. A spring 31 wound around the pin 28 yieldingly holds the lever 27 in a position wherein it holds the cover 25 in engagement with the ring 20 to form a gas tight joint therebetween.

Carried by the cover 25 and arranged to communicate with the atmosphere are a plurality of elbow-shaped fittings 33 which terminate at their inner ends in faces 34 preferably slightly inclined to the vertical. Lock nuts 35 are provided upon the outer ends of the fittings 33 to secure the fittings to the cover. Arranged to seat upon the face 3 1 of engagement with the faces 34-.

Secured to the ring 19 is a tubular member 39 preferably provided with an imperforate bottom end wall 40, the end wall 40 being secured by any suitable means to the side Wall of the tubular member 39, which side wall is. preferably cylindrical and is provided with I flame proof apertures which prevent the propagation of flame into the tank from the exterior thereof by way of the passage through the tubular member 39. Disposed Within the tubular member 39 and arranged to rest upon the bottom end wall 40 thereof is a tubular member 43 preferably provided with an imperforate bottom end wall 15. The side wall of the tubular member 43 is preferably perforate and preferably extends into an annular slot 47 formed in the ring 20. The tubular member 43 is preferably formed from heavier material and has larger apertures than the tubular member 39 and serves to protect it so that no holes will be punched therethrough when testing devices are inserted in the tank through the opening 11. Obviously, if large holes are punched in the tubular member 39 it would cease to function as a flame proof member. The tube 43 also serves as a baflie member to protect the tube 39 from injury in the event an explosion occurs within the tube 39.

It is readily understood that if the bolts 22 are first withdrawn from the sleeve 16, the

rings 19 and 20 together with the tubular members 39 and 413 may be quickly and easily removed from the tank 10 so that they may be cleaned, inspected or repaired. To hold the cover 25 in a position wherein it will not impede removal of the rings 19 and'QO and to permit access to the tank 10 through the opening in the ring 20, 1 preferably provide a latch member 50 engageable with a lug 51 formed upon the lever 27. Thus, when the lever 27 is angularly displaced to bring the cover 25 into its opened position, the latch member 50 may be brought into engagement with the lug 51 and the lever will be held in a position wherein it retains the cover in its opened position. The latch member 50 is preferably U-shaped and is preferably pivoted upon a lug 52 formed integral with the sleeve 16. It will be noted that the sleeve 16 is provided with an octagonal flange whereby it may be engaged by a wrench or the like when it is being screw threaded into or removed from the collar 14.

The function of each valve 36 is substantially this: Whenever the pressure obtaining -Within'the tank 10 falls below atmospheric pressure, the atmospheric pressure will unseat the valve from the associated face 3% and air will enter the tank to equalize the pressure inside and outside of the tank. The valves 36 are so arranged that a relatively slight fall in pressure in the tank 10 will permit them to open to admit air from the exterior of the tank, it being obvious that much less force is required to angularly displace the valves 36 from their substantially vertical positions than would be required tolift the valves if they were placed in substantially horizontal positions. Of course, the weight 38 may be omitted if desired or may be made of any desired size to regulate the pressure in the tank. In most instances, it is, particularly advantageous to have the valves 36 open when the pressure within the tank'lO falls slightly below atmospheric pressure, as the tanks to which apparatus embodying my'invention are applied are generally of relatively large size and may collapse if a vacuum of a few ounces obtains therein. v v

In the event that the pressure within the tank rises above atmospheric pressure, it will unseat the cover 25 against the action of the spring 31 and the pressure within the tank will fall until there is no danger of failure of the tank. The spring 31 may be designed to retain the cover 25 in its closed position until the pressure within the tank rises to a predetermined value. One advantage of this construction is that if the contents of the tank are sub ected to heat and are vaporized thereby, the relatively high pressure which willthen obtainrwill be relieved before the tank fails. Of course it is readil understood that 7 1 the tubular member 39 will prevent the propagation of flame therethrough when the valve or cover 25 is unseated to relieve the undesirable pressure obtaining in the tank. This is an exceedingly importantfeature of the invention, as such a rise in pressure may be due to combustion of matter disposed in the immediate vicinity of the tank.

The embodiments of the invention shown in the drawing are particularly advantageous as a single fitting is employed to hold the pressure obtaining in the tank within certain limits and to prevent ignition of the contents of the tank when air or vapor enters into or passes out of the tank through the fitting. This construction obviates the necessity of providing several openings in the tank for a plurality of fittings. i

In Fig. 4, I have shown another embodiment of the invention which preferably comprises parts substantially identical with the parts which constitute the device shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive. In addition, how ever, the device shown in Fig. i comprises a perforate member 60 carried by the valve or cover 25 which is preferably identical in construction with the valve or cover 25.

The function of the perforate member 60 will presently appear.

It will be noted that I have employed the same reference numerals to identify corresponding parts of the two embodiments of the invention shown in the drawing. However, the letter a is added to these numerals when they are used in connection with the device shown in Fig. 4. Thus, the device shown in Fig. 4 is mounted in an opening 11 of the tank 10 and comprises a flanged collar 14 a sleeve 16 rings 19 and 20, a cover 25, fittings 35, valves 36*, pins 37*, tubular members 89 and 43 and a pivoted lever 27 to which the cover 25 is secured. All of these parts have the same function as the like parts of the device shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive. The device shown in Fig. t operates in substantially the same manner as the device shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, with the exception that if a violent explosion occurs outside of the tank and flame is driven into the tank through the fittings 35, the contents of the tank will be protected from the flame only by the tubular members 39 and 43 whereas in the device shown in Fig. 4, the contents of the tank 10 are protected by the tubular members 39 and 43 and by the perforate member 60 which, in this embodiment of the invention, is provided with flame proof apertures of the kind provided in the tubular members 39 and 39 It is conceivable that an explosion outside of the tank 10 might drive the flame or highly heated gases through the apertures in the tube 39, but it is readily understood that the use of the member 60 in connection with the tank 59 negatives any chance of the propagation of flame from the outside of the tank 10 to the contents thereof. It may be mentioned that the member 60 functions as a baffle and prevents the full force of the explosion from acting in the tube 39*.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus of the kind described for receptacles holding volatile liquids said apparatus comprising an elbow-shaped fitting projecting into said receptacle and having a passage therethrough communicating with the atmosphere and with the interior of the receptacle, and a valve pivoted upon the inner end of said fitting for controlling the fiow of air therethrough, said valve making a relatively large angle with the horizontal when it is in its closed position.

2. Apparatus of the kind described adapted to be mounted in an opening in a tank, said apparatus comprising a closure member for said opening, a goose neck carried on the inner side of said closure member and rovided with a venting passage, a valve f dr controlling the flow of fluid through said passsage, and a member curved so as to closely encompass said goose neck and provided with relatively small apertures and mounted upon said closure member for retarding the propagation of flame through said passage.

3. In a device of the kind described, a re ceptacle having an opening therein, an annular collar secured to said receptacle about said opening, a sleeve mounted within said collar and having an annular flange engaging said collar, said sleeve provided with internal annular shoulders, a ring seated upon each of said. shoulders, means on the outer ring for retaining the inner ring in position on its shoulder, said outer ring having an annular portion flush with the outer face of the flange on said sleeve, means 011 said flange for retaining said outer ring in position, said means including means secured to the face of said flange and projecting over said annular portion on said outer ring, a tubular member having a plurality of apertures secured to said outer ring, and a second tubular member having a plurality of flame proof apertures enclosing said first tubular member and secured to said inner ring.

4:. In a device of the kind described, a receptacle having an opening therein, a collar secured to said receptacle about said opening, a sleeve mounted within said collar and hav ing a flange overlying same, said sleeve provided with internal circumferential shoulders, a ring engaging each of said shoulders, means for retaining said rings upon said shoulders including an annular portion on the outermost ring flush with the outer face of said flange and means secured to said face of said flange for engaging said annular portion, a plurality of concentrically arranged nnilti-apertured tubes secured to said rings, a pivoted closure member for said opening, said closure member resiliently held in closed position, and means on said closure member for the passage of air into said receptacle.

5. Apparatus of the kind described for receptacles holding volatile liquid, said apparatus comprising an elbow-shaped fitting projecting into said receptacle and having a passage therethrough, communicating with the atmosphere and with the interior of the receptacle, and a caplike valve pivoted upon the inner edge of said fitting for controlling the flow of air therethrough, said valve making a relatively large angle with the horizontal when it is in its closed position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

RUDOLPH J. ANSCHICKS. 

